Aronica elected, Higgins defeats Madigan

Grand Islander Mike Madigan, a candidate for Congress, votes at the Grand Island fire station on Stony Point Road Tuesday. (photo by Larry Austin)

Grand
Island Town Councilman Chris Aronica was returned to the council in
Tuesday's general election, beating challenger Shelia Ferrentino.

Aronica
had 56 percent of the vote to Ferrentino's 44 percent.

Aronica
was appointed in January to fill the vacant council seat created when
then-Councilwoman Mary Cooke was elected supervisor. He will serve
out the remainder of Cooke's term.

Aronica,
a Conservative Party member, had 1,145 votes on the Conservative
line, and 4,091 on the Democratic Party line for 5,236 votes (56
percent). Ferrentino, a Republican member of the town's Planning
Board, had 3,655 votes on the Republican line and 420 on the
Independence Party line for 4,075 votes (44 percent).

Islander
Mike Madigan lost his bid for the 26th District Congressional seat to
Congressman Brian Higgins. Higgins received 74.6 percent of the vote
to Madigan's 25.4 percent with approximately 265,000 votes cast.

Madigan
said he "learned a tremendous amount and I don't think the
campaign ends here."

"The whole Island has been extremely supportive.
A lot of the boots on the ground have come right from the Island,"
Madigan said. He called his first effort at public office "a real,
good grassroots campaign, good old-fashioned. It's not special
interest paid for and bought for."